Requiem of May
by Tilja
Summary: Meilin meets Ryusuke Kobayashi while she's staying at the Hiragizawa residence in England and now they are to marry soon. But Meilin will have to look out for what's lurking under the trees before it steals the most precious thing to her.
1. Arrival

**Arrival.**

Heathrow Airport is the busiest one of the five airports located in the London area. Offering over 180 different destinations worldwide all year round with flights leaving and arriving at any hour of the day, seeing people from all nationalities is no novelty for the prestigious and most sought after airport in all of Europe. The middle of the Shoulder Season offered just as varied a gathering of people as the busiest of the Peak Season, only a little more relaxed in pace. The busy waiting area was thronging that morning with people coming and going after their intended flights arrivals or departures so nobody paid any attention to the man watching intently the arrival news for the past half hour. His features were nothing singular in that place, either, his light brown hair shining slightly when the light caught it through the passing people, the bright, clear eyes fixed on the screen above his head, hands in the pockets of his raincoat to keep them still. The end of April brought in mild weather but it was still cold, and you never knew when it would rain. And in his line of work you couldn't just carry an umbrella around all the time.

The minutes wore off and finally the line he was looking for appeared on the screen, arriving in just 10 minutes' time. He moved from the spot he had been standing on and followed a group of people going in the same direction of the Gate 7. A circle began to form slowly around the exit gate, many of oriental nationality, waiting for the apparition of their families and acquaintances, just like him. Finally, a voice announced the arrival of the Virgin Atlantic flight from Tokyo of 11:40 am and within 5 minutes, the passengers were coming out of the gate and going in the direction of the people waiting for them. He was tall, but he was on tiptoe watching anxiously the people coming out of the gate. Presently, a girl with long dark hair set up in two high tails at each side of her face appeared through the door carrying her hand luggage. Her dark smart eyes scanned the crowd surrounding the gate until she found what she was looking for. He was waving widely at her and she walked rapidly to where he was waiting to embrace her tightly.

"Welcome back. I missed you." He was still holding her close.

"I missed you, too. I'm sorry it took so long." She was looking in his eyes. She hadn't seeing him for half a month and was trying to take in any changes he might've had in her absence. He looked still the same as ever, earnest, caring, cheerful, funny, and so handsome.

"So how was it?" He asked, shrugging that aside as he put his arm around her shoulders and they walked together to the luggage track to get her things. "Was your family alright?"

"It was lovely! They're all well and the baby was the cutest thing you've ever seen! I wish you'd been there, I missed you." Sighed, looking up at his smiling face.

"I couldn't go, I was on duty," he apologised. "Besides, they're your family, not mine."

"'Not yet', you mean." She had a gleam in her eyes as she said this and he looked at her with those loving eyes he had only for her enjoyment. "I know they'll like you when they get to know you. That's why I wish you had been able to come this time with me."

"So, what's for dinner?" The abrupt change of subject was not as amazing as it may look. The youth had an all too normal healthy appetite and food was in his foremind at any given moment. The girl smiled at this usual display.

"Wait and see. Sakura taught me some new recipes, you'll love them."

"I'll love anything you make, darling." They had arrived at the luggage band and were waiting for the bags to appear. "Did you see your mother?" He asked off-handedly, like it was a thing of no importance, but she noticed and her eyes and voice hardened at once.

"No, and I don't wish to speak about it. Please don't mention that any more, Ryusuke."

"Meilin, please be reasonable. If I am to marry you, I think it best to have your parents' blessing. Can't you try to let go and talk it over with her? I'm sure she didn't mean ill." He was speaking gently, knowing how much of a sore spot it was for her but she wouldn't budge.

"I went to visit my cousin and his first born son, my mother had nothing to do in a place like that, she wasn't invited and I wouldn't have gone if she had. And I don't need her 'blessing' to live my life the way I want!" She said angrily. "She never respected my wishes so why should I respect hers? Now be a dear and help me with the bags. I think I brought too much back." She was already hauling a big suitcase so he had to drop the subject to help her with her heavy luggage and there were no more opportunities to discuss the subject to Meilin's relief, who hated arguing with him after been apart for so long.

Ryusuke drove her over to the Hiragizawa residence where she was staying until after the wedding, when they would be moving to their newly refurbished house, a wedding gift from Eriol, who said he wanted to keep the couple as close as possible for the amusement of his wife.

* * *

**NA: **

_Disclaimer:__ I do not own any of Clamp characters, they are the sole property of CLAMP and I make no claims over them._

_This story is actually a crossover between Card Captor Sakura, 20 Mensou ni Onegai and a third non Clamp work which I shall not mention here yet. That's the whole point of the mystery of this story. Unfortunately, I couldn't find 20 Mensou ni Onegai in any of its given or translated names as a category listed in so I had to put this story as a CCS fanfic solely. _

_This story is composed of 3 parts, the first of which is presented here under the name of _Requiem of May_. Each part is separated by a timeline so each will have its own name. The next two parts will be under the crossover section for sure, but I'll let you know when that time comes. So far and since there's no label for the greatest thief of Clamp, this part will remain as a CCS fic. _

_I hope you like my first ever attempt at a long and complex story. _

_Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. _


	2. Introduction

**Introduction.**

Ryusuke Kobayashi was a foreign detective for the Metropolitan Police. He had arrived in England two years before, on an assignment from his department in the Tokyo Police. In truth, he had been sent to get out of the way.

After finishing his school education, Ryusuke had entered the police department on a recommendation from the commissioner on his excellent abilities. He was charismatic; he could dominate any group with just one word. His spirits were an example to every other officer and he had a way to carry himself that allowed him to take control of the situation, no matter how desperate it seemed. He was hard working and diligent; he carried anything he set to do to the very end even if nobody else followed him. Everyone believed that he solved cases by his sheer willpower but he always claimed that it was sound, hard police work that caught the criminal in the end. He never gave up on a case, regardless of how impossible it seemed to be, and his colleagues were sure he would manage to catch even the ghost that haunted London Tower if he set up to do it.

It was also his extraordinary abilities that had landed him there. After the fiasco on the capture of the Thief of Many Faces for many years, his chief of department had decided to remove him from the case and try a different approach through other means and with another person perhaps. This was something Ryusuke couldn't accept, he had become obsessed with capturing the slippery thief, to the point where he would scream his name at odd times, just to show his intention of capturing him. It was perhaps this fact which caused his final break down. His obsession took a turn to the worse. He had stopped eating or sleeping, he just kept working tirelessly on the case, reviewing every little fact, trying to guess the next move of the slippery thief with every possible means. Against the orders from his superiors, he worked on the case on his own, alone and on his own free time. Finally, he had dropped almost dead with exhaustion from lack of sleep and food at which time his superior put his foot down and decided that the best course of action would be to get him away from the place, give him an assignment that was as far from the object of his obsession as possible. And thus, he had ended up in London as a liaison for the Tokyo Police Department on the case of a very notorious international white glove thief.

Everyone thought that case would have him busy for years. Nobody had ever been able to get close enough to have some evidence to identify the famed robber. Still, taking the advice of his family and friends, he began working on the impossible case in his usual manner and in little time he was making outstanding progress. In two months, he had acquired more information and insight on the burglar than years of police vigilance had ever done. By the time five months had gone by, he had actually managed to capture the thief, gaining the respect of all the department and an invitation to become a permanent member of the forces. It seemed that the course of action of his boss had been the correct one and Ryusuke's obsession seemed to have become something of the past. Even Ryusuke himself had began what he called a new life there.

When he had been living almost a year in England, a strange case presented itself to him where nobody could have committed the crime, it was physically impossible. That's when he had met quite casually Eriol Hiragizawa, a young man who happened to be always near the scene of the crime and who had grown fond of the detective, helping him with some strange advice that seemed to strangely fit in some weird way into the actions. Following Hiragizawa's instructions suspiciously, he encountered that the solution to the case was something quite unexpected and unbelievable. Eriol insisted that magic was something not as uncommon or farfetched as he wanted to believe and guided him through the steps to help him catch his prey. And catch it he did, which earned the young sleuth a new promotion. At the same time, the friendship between Ryusuke and Eriol also grew and he was often invited to the Hiragizawa residence, where Mrs. Hiragizawa always treated him to the best oriental dishes he had tasted ever since he had been transferred to that country. What he missed the most about his transfer was the food. English cuisine was substantial enough but it didn't resemble the wholesome and tasty Japanese dishes he was so used to as a child in his father's sushi restaurant. So with the appeal of tasty food and pleasant company, detective Kobayashi became a regular visitor to the Hiragizawa household and everyone there always greeted him as a member of the family every time he walked up the doorsteps.

In that house was where he met her. When she arrived, she looked very sad and miserable, unable to get her bearings like a lost child, and yet she couldn't have been more than a few years younger than him. Tomoyo Hiragizawa had taken her straight into her room when they arrived and Eriol had explained to him, who had come like almost every day to depart of the delicious food of the house, that she was a very dear friend of his wife who was going through a very hard time at her home now so she would be staying at the house, and could he help make her feel at home and help her recover her spirits. The moment Ryusuke had set eyes on her sad face, his chivalrous nature had come out and he bowed to Eriol to help her in anything he was fit for. That reassurance eased some of Eriol's anxiety, for anxious he was, given the current situation of the girl.

Meilin was resentful and bitter. How could her mother do something like that to her? She had arrived at her house to receive the order to prepare herself for her engagement ceremony. Meilin was dumbfounded and didn't understand what her mother was talking about. Apparently, following the Li tradition, her worthy parent had arranged for her a marriage of convenience with a wealthy tycoon who she had perhaps, if she could be prevailed to remember, seen once at an exclusive party her mother had taken her the previous month and she had, so her mother told her, chatted with him pleasantly. After this set up party, the tycoon had gone to the parents of the prospective bride and asked for her hand, giving quite a handsome dowry as payment. When all this was explained to Meilin, she was so shocked she couldn't even reply at first and the entreaties to go and get dressed to see her future husband didn't reach her ears either. When she recovered enough, she walked into her room and locked the door behind. The maid began knocking insistently on her door some while after, telling her she'd be late but she wouldn't even answer. Her mother came afterwards herself and banging on her door, ordered her to come out. This time, she was so irated by everything she opened her door merely to shout at her mother to her face. Then came a very heated discussion about free will, parental rights and old traditions in which none of the women gave in and so the engagement was suspended until the girl could be made to understand her place and accept what was best for her. This really enraged Meilin and she threatened to run away if her mother didn't stop this hideous plan. The mother merely warned her that if she didn't obey her, the consequences would be dire for her.

After this discussion, Meilin could only think of calling Tomoyo to pour her full story in the other woman's understanding ears. Tomoyo listened to her carefully and silently until she finished her tale and offered hers and Eriol's help for whatever she needed and immediately offered their house for her to stay for as long as she wished to if bad came to worse. Meilin agreed to that idea immediately for she wouldn't stay if her mother didn't change her mind and repent. Tomoyo also told her she should call Syaoran and get his help since he's head of the family but Meilin didn't want to bother him now that his first child was on its way. Tomoyo managed to convince her to do it in the end, so Meilin called him and he went to her aid immediately.

No matter what was said to her or who said it, Meilin's mother wouldn't budge from her plans, she was adamant to get her daughter married to the best available prospect. Syaoran's mother had also talked to her but to no avail. It seemed her mind was made up and nothing would change her. When Syaoran arrived, he tried by every mean to make her change her mind but every attempt was completely useless and only enraged the woman, until his own mother ordered him to stop trying and return to his home with his wife. Syaoran had then a discussion with his mother but she merely told him to let things go their way until their ultimate end and then ordered him back to his house. Even Sakura came after Syaoran against his wishes given her advanced state; she only said she needed to confirm something. Sakura had an interview with her mother-in-law from which she came out no less worried than before. All of Syaoran's sisters were on Meilin's side and supported her in everything. Yelan had already banned that old marrying tradition from her own household a long time ago and the girls were convinced that the biggest reason for that had been Syaoran, for otherwise he would've had to take his place as the head of the Li house and bring his wife into the house, something he did everything in his power to prevent.

After every attempt had been made and failed to change her mother's ideas, Meilin took up on Tomoyo's invitation and after packing everything she deemed necessary, she went into the morning room and announced to her mother she was leaving the house. At this juncture, instead of trying to argue with her stubborn daughter, her mother only stated that if she left the house, she would then be disowned and be no longer considered a daughter of that house. This last insult was all Meilin needed to leave vowing never to return, so with the help of Syaoran's sisters, she immediately left the place and took the plane to London already prepared by Tomoyo through her company. When she arrived at the airport, the first thing she did was run to where Tomoyo and Eriol were waiting for her and hug Tomoyo and cry all the tears that the tension had kept back until then.

That's how she had arrived at the Hiragizawa residence, miserable and depressed and unforgiving against her unfeeling mother. When dinner was served, she came down to it in silence. She only gave a perfunctory nod of the head when she was introduced to the tall man, who was also a guest that night, and then listened nor talked to anybody until she finished and left for her room again.

By next day, after she had rested well, she felt better and came down to breakfast in a better mood. Eriol had already left for his work and Tomoyo received her cheerfully and did everything to make her stay there enjoyable. The first thing she did was to propose going shopping right away to take her mind off of things. To this Meilin agreed promptly. They took the car and, after parking it at Tottenham Court, went along walking to the different places. They both enjoyed greatly their stroll over Oxford Street, window viewing at Bond Street, walking through Regent Street with its bargains, watching the different trends in Convent Garden and finishing by eating in one of Soho's most prestigious restaurants with their arms full of their shopping and sipping contentedly into their cups of tea. They bought the best quality clothes all thanks to Tomoyo's unmistakable taste and knowledge of the fashion industry. She led her friend with sure step through all the best stores and only purchased from those which quality she deemed was stainless instead of going to the fashionable shops like any tourist. If you knew where to go, you could get anything your heart desired in one of the world's first shopping districts.

They arrived at the house almost at dinner time, tired but in good spirits. Today also the man from the day before was there, and this time she greeted him more cheerfully and finally learned that his name was Ryusuke Kobayashi and that he was a detective for the Metropolitan Police and they chatted away at dinner. In truth, she wasn't as cheerful as she was acting but she had decided that day she'd soon be, she'd forget everything about her mother and just enjoy the time she was there with her friends, so when Eriol proposed that Kobayashi showed her around the place that weekend, she agreed readily to the plan in an attempt to be as gay as she could. She was determined to enjoy herself to the utmost, which showed her usual spirits were coming back to her.

Ryusuke found the girl more interesting now that she was talking than when she was silent and broody. Now he wanted to help her for her own sake, not out of compassion for someone in trouble. He liked her best like this and was glad to be having some company on a solitary Sunday. Despite his popularity, he had very few friends, probably due to his obsessive habits, and either they were married or had their own couples to attend to in their free time, which meant he had his free time mostly to himself. That was the main reason why he was in the Hiragizawa house practically every day. That and the excellent food.

Since you can't go shopping every day to keep your sprits high, Tomoyo devised a new plan to keep Meilin's mind occupied. The second day she was there, Tomoyo began teaching Meilin different kinds of cooking. It had been mainly Eriol's suggestion on French cuisine and how much he wanted to have it now that gave her the cue to start cooking the delicate dishes and at the same time took Meilin in to teach her how to cook them. Since Ryusuke was there to eat every day, the girls targeted him as the official taster for every attempt (Eriol had apologised himself and declined the honour arguing he had much work to do at that time), and being a good natured man and keen on helping the foreign girl, he ate everything up stoically. Some things were edible, whereas some others were not for consuming purposes, yet he ate it all and retained his good humour. This constant interaction also helped build up a fast friendship between the two young people while congratulating on the successes and laughing at the failures.

Given the fact that Meilin only knew Tomoyo and Eriol in that country and the fact that Ryusuke's few other friends were always busy with their own lives, they were pretty much thrown out together. So when Tomoyo went back to her work after a week (for she had taken a leave to help making her friend feel at home in her new environment), it was little surprise that they spent most days in each other's company and the meaningful glances the husband and wife made to each other across the table passed unnoticed by the new couple who were too busy talking to each other.

Roughly two months after Meilin's arrival, the couple announced their engagement to the utter amazement of Ryusuke's friends and surprise on the side of the Hiragizawa household. As expected, only Tomoyo was privy to the couple's feelings and she had hinted as much to her husband. But to Nakuru and Spinel it was shocking news to find them engaged so soon. Meilin had informed Ryusuke fully of the reason why she was in England and how things stood with her family, but she had only done it because of his insistence to meet her family and get their approval. He had been raised to respect tradition and he intended to do so. Except that this was a delicate situation and could not be taken lightly; Meilin was decided not to see or speak to her mother ever again.

It took the combined effort of all three of them to convince her to at least write a letter informing her mother of her impending marriage. She finally accepted grudgingly and sent a short note to let her know of her decision and how she wouldn't change her mind. When the answer came it was in the form of a telephone call in which her mother prevailed her to abandon the foolish scheme which, according to her own full understanding of her daughter, was only made as a means to spite her mother and no real feelings were attached to it. From then on, the conversation turned into a fight which ended with the mother maintaining her position and her daughter hanging up on her. After this last fight, Meilin went to her room to cry in rage at her mother's rotten heart.

A few days after the call, the Hiragizawas and Meilin were invited to Japan to visit Sakura and Syaoran's newly born son and so there they went. Meilin wanted to introduce Ryusuke to her cousin's family but unfortunately a very serious murder had been committed and he had to remain on duty until it was solved, so they parted at the airport before he was called back to work.

The trip was enjoyable and the baby was adorable. Everyone complimented the mother on how beautiful he was. The only thing Meilin missed was being with Ryusuke. They had been together practically every day since they met and this was the longest they'd been apart. Some days later, the Hiragizawas excused themselves saying they had to return to their obligations and left for England again. However, Sakura, with the help of Syaoran, managed to convince Meilin to stay a little longer in their house. Meilin was eager to see Ryusuke again, but she couldn't resist Sakura's wistful eyes and her entreaties to remain just a little longer. She used every means to make her remain, even putting forward her baby whom the girl couldn't resist. And so Meilin remained there for two weeks, by which time she missed Ryusuke so much there was no keeping her any longer. The day she left for England, Sakura hugged her so tenderly and with such caring eyes it seemed as if she wouldn't be seeing her in many years. Even Syaoran left her to board the plane also with a hug, something she would never have expected of him.

Now that she was back in England, she had much to prepare for the wedding, which would take place during the next month. Meilin became then busy with all the preparations and could see little of Ryusuke now, for the murder case that had occupied him when she had left had turned into a series of murders with no tangible perpetrator.

Ever since Eriol had come back, Ryusuke had gone to see him many times to get his advice with this strange case that couldn't have been committed by a human or any known animal. It turned out that Eriol could not help him this time because he stated that this had nothing to do with magic but that he'd continue to investigate this matter for him. Now it was over half a month since Meilin went to visit Sakura and Syaoran and the police were no closer to identifying the murderer than they were when it all started.


	3. Sunday

**Sunday.**

They arrived at the house and Meilin went to the door to open it with her key while Ryusuke unloaded the luggage from the car and they both started getting everything into the entrance hall. The house was empty, Eriol had decided that since it was a sunny Sunday, he would take his whole family out for a picnic and left instructions to Ryusuke to stay with Meilin to keep her company. As if any such instructions were needed to make him stay!

When everything was entered, Meilin went to the kitchen to start fixing some food for her man. She felt that if she didn't, he'd faint for lack of food. He went with her to the kitchen and she started cooking while recounting her experiences.

"So how's the serial killer case going? Or is it two killers now?" Meilin asked when she finished telling him of her trip.

"Oh, darn! I thought we had kept that out of the press. Where did you read about it?" He asked, angry at whoever might've worried her stay with the details of the case. The press had been having quite a field day, what with bodies showing up in various states of decaying or eating in different park areas all over London and the added fact that there were two distinctive modus operandi to the killings. The police had been going through all kinds of theories as to who or what might've done that but the pieces still didn't add up to make a profile of what they were looking for. Moreover, there were already 2 victims found in suburbs and the police had kept that fact quiet so as not to alarm the people.

"Then I won't tell you if you get like that. Any clues as to who might be?"

"You know, the question right now is a 'what' rather than a who. Yeah, I know," he answered to Meilin's wide open eyes. "It's just an idea, a hunch. No one would believe me if I told them, anyway."

"Have you talked to Eriol?"

"That's the first thing I did, as a matter of fact. He has no idea what or who might've done... all that..." He trailed off remembering the gruesome scenes.

Meilin heard the tone of his voice, went over the counter to where he was sitting and wrapped her arms around him from behind. He took her up in his arms and kissed her tenderly.

"I know you'll catch whoever did it. You always do." She said confidently as soon as she could speak again.

"Of course I will! Nobody does that kind of things while I'm around! But first, I'm starving." This was the cue for Meilin to go back and finish preparing the meal.

She finished cooking in a few minutes and they both sat down to eat. They were silent at first, until Ryusuke was full enough to take a break from eating. Then Meilin put down her fork and started.

"Now, tell me everything about it. And don't spare the details." She ordered him.

"Can't you wait until after the desert?" He moaned.

She shook her head. "You've been avoiding the subject. If it was a common murder case, you wouldn't have any reason not to talk about it, except hurting sensibilities, which it isn't the case here. I want to know what's so important when you can't even tell who did it." She looked straight into his eyes. "You know my background. You can't surprise me that easily."

"You're a Nosy Parker, you know that." He said grimly.

"Yes! Now start talking."

He sighed and, seeing no way out of it, began the tale.

"You know that two days before you left I got a call from HQ for a body found in Battersea." Meilin nodded. "After the coroner's autopsy, it was stated that the body had been slashed open by a sharp object, possibly some kind of large blade, and that those wounds were the cause o death. There were also marks of animal activity. The corpse had been eaten quite considerably by small animals most likely.

"What wasn't said at the inquest by orders from above was that the man had been gutted from inside out with some kind of blade. This fact was kept silent because of its bizarre nature. I mean, it was a sharp metal object after all. How do you cut someone from inside out with a metal object? And the public would go up in a smoke, not to mention the media if they got their hands into that information.

"After that, 5 more bodies were found in other park areas all over London with similar wounds and the same cause of death. All also partly eaten by small animals. The times of death all vary and there's no pattern in any of the victims' deaths to follow. At first, we thought it might be animals, but the metal object wouldn't fit in with that. Besides, the attack area's so largely spread it'd have to be a species that lived in all those places and there's none that fits the description. Then if it was a human, he'd have to have a pattern to choose his victims, he'd have to be seen in too many places to be missed that easily, but there's no lead on anyone that's been in all those places, not even a salesman travelling the country or a vagabond. Then you have to consider the state of decomposition of the bodies and you'd note that they haven't been lying in the earth for long, yet they are eaten by animals to a very advanced degree, which also hinders the identification of the time of death. I didn't even know they had such wild animals loose in England as to do that kind of damage so fast! Wildlife has been informed and they are making a sweep of the whole of each area to see what they can find.

"Then, a few days ago, we had a call from a neighbour in the area of Clapham saying that they'd found a body lying in an alley in the middle of Spencer Road. When we saw the body, it was slashed and gutted like the others but there were no indications of animal activity. What's more, when the coroner performed the autopsy, it was discovered that the same kind of weapon had been used to cut the body, but that this had been done from the outside, unlike the rest of the bodies. The second body like this was found over at Hampton Hill. Slashed from the outside, no signs of animals, thrown in the street. This new victims seem to be the doings of a copycat killer who is trying to imitate the original Park Killer, as the media calls him. But this new person doesn't know about the weapon cutting from inside the body, so this one we're tracking down first. We'll probably find him soon and get information from him to help us catch the original killer. I don't think they've had any contact with each other but it seems this new one at least knows about the weapon, and we need that to help us track others of the kind.

"That's where we are right now. Is that what you wanted to know?" He asked after finishing the story.

"Yes, thank you." She answered calmly. "Give me a minute."

She got up and went to the stove. She lifted the teapot and poured 2 cups of tea which he brought back with pieces of black forest pie. She placed them in front of herself and Ryusuke and sat down again.

"Now tell me everything else you omitted." She said with her cup in her hands.

He started at that. "How do you know there's more?"

"If I hadn't, you just confirmed it." She answered with a smile. Then she explained, "You said you feel it's more of a 'what' than a who, yet you only explained it as if you're looking for a human being right now. And if you went to Eriol for help, it means there's something that makes you think it's not normal, other than lack of any clues. I think there are bits of information you omitted to mention. What else did you find?"

"You're right. In everything." He sighed. "You would make a fine detective. How could you tell so much?"

"I spent my childhood training and learning magic with Syaoran. Even if I can't use it, I still have all the theoretical knowledge I acquired. And the first thing you're taught when dealing with magic is to look for small bits of odds and ends of residual energy to tell you what kind of magic you're dealing with. If Eriol doesn't know what's killing those people and you still believe it's not human, then there must be something else you found about the murderer."

At this point, he could no longer hide it. "Alright. Inside the victims' bodies there was a fibrose substance in the abdomen, some kind of cocoon, and it was cut open from the inside by the same weapon that cut the body. It looked like something grew inside that cocoon in the abdomen and then cut through the cocoon first and then through the flesh and came out. Also, that same something ate through the body, starting with the liver from the inside before cutting its way out. The person must've undergone a tremendous agony while he was being eaten from inside before dying. The coroner couldn't determine the speed at which the thing ate the liver or how long did the person live, if any, before being cut open because of all the other bite marks all over the place since the body was attacked by other animals as well. It was impossible to tell if the person was still alive or just dead when he was cut open. All that the autopsy could tell was that it was at the same time." He was looking down, sickened by the thought of all that. "Most of this information is actually from Eriol. He went into the morgue and performed whatever he does and when he came out he told me there were no traces of magic but he could tell me how the person had died, in case it was of any use. As a matter of fact, I have no idea if it's of any use, except that now we have bodies being cut open from outside like it should be but the same cocoon cut open also from outside is there, smashed to bits and empty like the rest."

Meilin was silent throughout the entire time. She waited until he recovered enough to speak to him.

"This means you're looking for some kind of animal, not a human being." She stated.

"That would be so, if it wasn't for the blades. They were metallic blades they used for cutting open the bodies. That has been corroborated by Eriol as well. What animal has metallic parts in its body?"

"And Eriol said it wasn't magic?"

"Yes, he said there was no magic involved in it. It wasn't any magical creature or anything of the magical world. And I think that actually worried him."

She could believe that much. Eriol was the reincarnation of Clow Reed, the most powerful mage of all times, and there was nothing he hadn't known. She imagined that Eriol would be much annoyed by something he didn't know after having been the know-all for so long.

"So what now?" She asked. "What's the next step?"

"As far as I can see it, if we consider the street victims to have been killed by a human, then we go looking for a human. From then on, I don't know yet." He shrugged his shoulders. "But one thing I know. I will capture whatever is doing this and I will end it, no matter what it takes. I won't be beaten!" This statement seemed to revive his spirits and he lifted a fist against the invisible foe, showing his resolution.

"I know you will, definitely!" Meilin said, going over to hug him. "And I will help you!"

"What?!" He almost stumbled over. "What do you mean help me? You're not planning on trying to solve this case, are you?" He looked at her suspiciously.

"Well, why do you think I asked you so much about it? I can probably get information you might need to help you out. I can give you a hand--" She was still talking when he interrupted her.

"Oh, no! No and most certainly no! You are not going to poke around and put yourself in danger. This is a case of murder. Whoever or whatever is out there is killing people and I won't allow you to become the next victim for going where you've no business to be. You will stay out of it, you hear me?" He was standing now, holding her by the shoulders, completely serious.

"But you're going over everywhere looking for the killer. He might kill you and I'm not going to just sit around and watch it. I don't want to leave you alone if anything happens." She was trying to win him over to her point of view but he wouldn't budge.

"That is my job. I'm sworn to protect the people and that includes you. Now promise me you won't go poking about and getting yourself in danger."

"You're hurting me."

"Promise!"

"Alright," she gave in. "I won't get myself in danger." He was still looking at her, unconvinced. "I promise! Now could you please let me go?"

He let her go and relaxed.

"I'm sorry. I just can't bear the thought that something might happ--" His mobile phone was ringing and he picked it up. His face became alert as he listened and he moved away to talk more privately. He came back less than a minute later. "I'm sorry, Meilin, I have to go now."

"Was that a call from your work?"

"Yes, something happened and I have to go now. I'm sorry." He apologised. "I'll be back for dinner."

"But it's Sunday. Can't it wait until tomorrow? I just got back." She pleaded.

"I wish I could stay but it's urgent." He was unwilling to go also but he had to.

"OK. I guess it can't be helped." She sighed. "I'll have your dinner ready for when you return. New recipe, you'll love it."

"You're the best!" He brightened at this and gave her a long kiss before putting on his coat and leaving.

She watched him leave from the door until the car disappeared in the distance. Then she went in again to get a coat and bag and left the house, locking the door behind her. She consulted a map she had in her purse and went towards the bus stop.

"It's a bright Sunday afternoon, perfect for walking. What danger can there be in walking over some illuminated places? Besides, I've got plenty of time. I'll be back before dinner."

With this, she headed for a place Ryusuke had mentioned a victim had been found.

* * *

**NA: **

_When a stubborn person listens to you too fast, be careful. _

_Hi! Back again with some notes. The main characters have already been presented and now we are getting to the story itself. These strange murders are the main plot of this part and the story will turn around them more or less. At least in its main part. _

_Now I'll just leave some small facts to follow the story. _

_The characters in this story are all of them of age. That is, no one is underage, which gives me a freedom of action for them and not worrying about the rights or wrongs of society rules. They will go and do as they please because they can. In this story, Meilin and the rest of the CCS regular characters from her age are all 21 years old. And some of them already have families, like Sakura and Syaoran. And yes, if you must know, Sakura and Syaoran's first born was born on April 1, as in every other Clamp story. I just couldn't resist it! Ryusuke Kobayashi is a 26 years old man, which makes it 10 years since we first saw him chasing after the Clamp Campus masked thief. The ages are all random and given just for the story.  
_

_The writing of Meilin's name was a whim of mine. I listened to the CCS anime and cd dramas and the name is always pronounced without even accentuating the final n, which usually means that the name ends in that letter and not in another that can be turned into a furigana. My impression was that if it was written Meiling, the pronunciation would resemble more like Meiringu, yet they even drop the final n sometimes. This led me to write the name simply as Meilin. Moreover, I've only found her name written in kanji everywhere, so I'd appreciate it if anyone can find me a furigana version that confirms or rejects my ideas. _

_And this is all for now. The next chapter won't have Meilin in it so you'll have to wait to see how her adventure turned out. Thank you for reading! _

_Yoroshiku onegaishimasu. _


	4. Among the trees

**Among the trees.**

He parked the car outside the area and started walking until he reached the spot. It was some minutes until he got to the place surrounded by the yellow tape. The police had made a 20 meters perimeter surrounding the place where they'd found the body, using the trees as posts to hold the yellow tape. An officer held the line up to let Ryusuke through. He walked to where the coroner was finishing his work.

"Not a nice way to wake up on a Sunday at all." His partner, inspector Grover, was yawning widely, holding a cup of coffee on his hand. "Why can't they take a break on the weekend like the rest of the town?"

"Did you just wake up, Wally? What were you doing all night?" Knowing his habits, probably on some pub again until they kicked him out, pissed like a sailor.

"Having fun, if you must know. You should try it some time, it'll take the stick you have implanted instead of a spine."

Wallace Grover was a man in his forties with a sour sense of humour and a cinical view at life and people. He had been in homicides long enough to find his job boring and uneventful at best so he had taken to drinking and hooking at pubs to up liven up his empty house and existence. After his first divorce, he had sworn married life was not suited for him. After his second one, he had seriously considered celibacy, a thought that lasted a couple of hours until the next pretty girl walked by. His views were probably very much biased by the pensions he had to pay them. All his exes at least agreed on something; that it was impossible to live with him. So, each of them in turn had taken off with a male of their preference, leaving him to arrange the paperwork and alimony. You could tell what had prompted his behaviour when you knew where he came from.

It still didn't change the fact that it was impossible to live or work with him. Ryusuke was a young detective with a knack at getting the job done. He had good instincts when it came to crime, he could tell how it was done and catch his prey in little time. Therefore, he was paired with the most experienced officer of the division, something none of them liked at all. The hard working young man disliked the loose style of life of the older man and likewise the more mature guy despised stuck up little twerps who thought themselves smarter only because they'd had a lucky strike. They were definitely not friends.

Right now, they were facing the place where the last victim was lying, a woman sprawled face up on the ground, gutted and cut to pieces.

"What do we have this time, Colin?" Ryusuke asked, forgetting Wally for the time being.

"Victim number seven, if we ignore the other two odd ones. Female, early thirties--"

"I'd give her 29. She looks like she's been around," interrupted Wally.

"As I was saying," Colin said, starting to get annoyed, "she has the same injuries as the other victims. The abdomen was the first opened. Died of the injuries there. Then came the other cuts and of course, the animals eating the remains. Same as the rest, no leads."

"Time of death?"

"Can't tell until the full autopsy but I'd say this one hasn't been lying more than 24 hours."

"Any ID on her?"

"She wasn't carrying any purse or anything. Judging by her clothes, I'd say she was dressed for indoors. She's either a local resident or was carried from her home without changing by someone."

"Great. Take a picture of her and we'll show it around, see if we can find anyone who can recognize her. We're lucky this one kept her face intact, although I would've advised her to do something with her nose. Makes for an ugly profile." Wally looked at the face sideways.

"Who found her?" This was addressed at large.

"Some teenagers playing football happened to shoot the ball away and found instead this little present awaiting when they came to pick it up. You can see the lunch of one of them over there, "Wally pointed to a place some feet away that the policemen were avoiding to step into. "At least he had the decency to avoid ruining the crime scene."

"Thanks, Colin." Ignoring Wally's nasty comments, he went to do his job.

First, he interviewed the teenagers. The one who first found the body was still shaky and nauseated, probably the one who had thrown up. He asked all the formal questions and got normal responses for them. None of them had seen anyone around the place, it was quiet, nice for a game, they thought they were alone. That is, until they found the corpse lying in the middle of a cluster of trees. Then they had called the police right away. After making an officer get their statements down, he went to investigate the surrounding area. He knew the police probably did it when they first arrived but he had to make sure. Presently, Wally joined him, his cup of coffee already vanished.

"So, did you get anything out of them beside whinings?"

"They gave their statements. And why do you have to be so nasty about everything? They just found a dead body, it's not something nice for anyone."

"They'll get over it. By tomorrow it'll be a great story to tell at school. Their social status will increase, they've become the interesting eyewitnesses of the most important case in the nation. Surely some little shock as that won't stop them from sharing their experience with the world, especially the press."

"You don't have to say it like that."

"Why not tell the truth as it is? Don't be so prudish. Those kids won't be shy in front of the cameras. We'll probably have to clean after them. God, I hate dealing with the press." Wally said angrily.

Ryusuke didn't answer to this. He didn't want to deal with them either but he wasn't going to admit to sharing anything with Wally right now. They kept on walking among the trees, looking for any indication of human activity that could give them some clue of where had the killer gone or come from. They found the same as every other time, nothing.

"This is useless. I don't know who the bastard is but I give it to him he can cover up his trail." Wally stopped on the spot and massaged his forehead.

"Tired already? You need to work out." Ryusuke told him looking at his bulging stomach.

"Shuddup. Hangover." He kept on massaging his temples with both hands. Ryusuke was about to make a comment on his way of life, and probably be rejected with sneering comments like every other time, when he heard a noise like crushed leaves under someone's feet.

Wally's hands stopped and he became alert. Ryusuke put his finger on his lips, then made signs for each of them to round the place from different sides. Wally nodded understanding. Both men pulled out their guns and walked cautiously surrounding the group of trees from where the sound had come. They heard another sound, like something being kicked out of the ground.

"Stop!" They both shouted, jumping into the clearing.

It was empty. They made a quick sweep of the entire place and found nothing, no traces of any activity either.

"What the hell was that?" Wally asked, lowering his gun. All that could be heard were the noises of the wind blowing through the leaves of the trees and insects buzzing around. He went farther into the other side of the clearing.

"I don't know. Perhaps an animal." Ryusuke had lowered his gun also and was looking at the ground to see if he could find any indications. He was looking around a very large tree with branches that begun at 3 metres above the ground.

"Well, fuck those animals! They can go play around another time. So where are the little devils? They were noisy enough earlier." Wally shouted from afar. His head was killing him and it made him angry.

"Back to their caves and trees? Leave the department for wildlife to take care of that. I'm also tired of running around nothing. Auch!" He clasped his neck.

"What is it?" Asked Wally as he was making his way back to where he was.

"Something stung me. I think it was a wasp." He was massaging his neck.

"Looks like this place is full of them. Do you hear those sounds?" He was looking up nervously, trying to figure out where was their nest.

"Yeah. Let's get out of here. We still need to check up on the identity of the woman and I want to get it over soon." Ryusuke started walking to the place where the police line was set up.

"I couldn't agree more with you. I want to get out of here." Wally walked rapidly out of the place and walked briskly past Ryusuke.

"What's the matter? You don't like insects?" Ryusuke asked when he caught up with him.

"I hate bugs!" He said, still walking fast. "And why do you want to go so fast? Do you have some place to be?" He asked maliciously.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Meilin came back today and we were planning on spending all day together."

"And then a dead body came to ruin your idyllic plans. Too bad. By the way, say hello to her for me. And tell her to help you loosen up. Or better yet, I'll tell her on the wedding day." He mused.

"You're not invited." Ryusuke stated firmly.

"But I'm really a cheerful guest. I can liven up any place." He tried to convince him.

"After you get drunk, I can pretty well imagine that." He shook his head. "It'll be a simple ceremony, only family and friends, and you're neither."

"You break my heart, lad." He put his hand to his chest mocking pain.

"What heart?"

"Well, I once had a heart and it broke. So I think you can say I have a broken heart." He said, thoughtfully.

Ryusuke snorted. At times it almost seemed to be possible to be on good terms with Wally. Until the next time he got drunk, that is. And he wouldn't risk ruining his wedding just for the possibility of getting along with a bitter man. Meilin didn't like him anyway, so it was easy not to invite him. Maybe he wouldn't mention he had sent his regards to her either.

They reached the scene of the crime just as Colin was looking for them to hand them the polaroid he'd taken of the woman and they set out with it to start asking around the neighbourhood, a job that would take up the rest of the afternoon.


	5. At the end of the day

**At the end of the day.**

The sun was already setting behind the tall buildings, throwing long shadows in the quiet suburban streets when a black minivan stopped in front of the main gate. The driver opened the trunk at the same time as the back door was opened by a man of black hair with glasses who helped a woman of long, black hair to descend after him. Nakuru came out from the driver's side and went to pick up the basket and thermal bag from the trunk. Eriol went to open the door and waited until Tomoyo had indicated to Spinel he could come out from the passenger's side and into the house, then went to help Nakuru with the things. She still had to get the car into the garage after it was empty. After Eriol saw her go, he went into the house and found Tomoyo and Spinel still in the entrance hall looking at the luggage that had been left there after Meilin arrived hours before.

When Nakuru entered some minutes later, they were getting the luggage up to Meilin's room and she exclaimed:

"Meilin is here! I want to see her, it's been so long." And with this, she headed towards the stairs.

"She's not here right now, Nakuru. She must've left with Ryusuke after arriving." Tomoyo said.

Nakuru stopped at the foot of the stairs. "Oh, I didn't think of that. So what time will she be back?"

"I don't know, but it shouldn't be long now, it's getting late. Can you take this big suitcase to her room?"

"Yes! Sorry, Tomoyo, I forgot!" Nakuru went quickly to get the suitcase Tomoyo was trying to lift and carried it upstairs.

Some twenty minutes later, the front door opened again and this time it was Meilin who came in. She went straight into the front room without looking at the entrance hall as she passed it or the fact that her bags weren't there anymore. She was still fuming at her own stupidity. When she'd got into the bus, she had asked for the street she wanted to go and it was alright, the bus went by that street. What she didn't remember was to ask if it the street was actually in the district she wanted to go to. So, after an hour's journey, she arrived at Harrow, with no clue as to where she was or where she had to go and even more, after spending what felt like another hour asking around, she finally found out that she was in the wrong Spencer Road. The one she was supposed to be looking for was in Clapham, about fifteen minutes from where she originally was, not in Harrow, which was over an hour away from the place she now had to return to and it was already getting late. It was an afternoon wasted in nothing. She felt so stupid. Of course, she had only arrived at the country three months before, but after all that Ryusuke had taught her, she now felt like a silly child.

She was still thinking about all this when the door opened and Nakuru entered screaming.

"Meilin! Welcome home! It's so good to have you back!" She said all this running to hug her tightly.

"Hi, Nakuru! It's good to be back." Her voice sounded stifled by the choking embrace.

"Nakuru, let her breath, please. Can't you ever behave normally at all?" Spinel had arrived after hearing Nakuru's exclamation from the other room. Tomoyo and Eriol had heard her too and were entering the room as well.

"Welcome back, Meilin. We took your bags into your room." Tomoyo greeted her when Nakuru finally let her go, smiling widely.

"Oh! Thank you very much, I forgot all about them. You shouldn't have bothered, they are too heavy." The memory of her forgotten luggage came back to her now that she mentioned it.

"It was no problem."

"Never mind that, you probably had more important things on your mind. You went out with Ryusuke and forgot everything else, of course. A nice stroll arm in arm with your loved one on a quiet day is so romantic. It's a good thing we left you alone."

Ever since the engagement announcement, Nakuru was full of ideas of romance and kept on daydreaming of plans for the couple. In fact, she hadn't been given much time to plan yet, because the moment the talks for wedding arrangement had started, they had to fly to Japan and leave everything on hold until the return of the bride, and now she felt like starting immediately with everything. Spinel just sighed with resignation at her extended antics. Just as long as she let him out of it, let her keep on with her crazy plans.

"Eh... Yes, of course. I had other things in my mind."

"Speaking of that, where is Ryusuke? Isn't he staying for dinner?" She looked around for him.

"He was called from his office and had to go. He'll be here for dinner."

"Did something happen?" Eriol asked.

"I don't know. He received a phone call and left saying it was urgent. Just like that." Now that she remembered what had happened she felt suddenly down but she shook that out so the others wouldn't see it.

"Well, at least he first brought you back. And he'll be back shortly."

"Yes," she lied. "Sorry for making you take my things." She changed the subject back quickly.

"Don't worry about it. This is your time and I'll help you in anything you need. Leave everything to me, I'll make sure everything is splendid for your very special day." She took Meilin's hands in her own and then left the room, humming.

"Was she like this when you married Eriol?" She asked Tomoyo when Nakuru was gone and Eriol apologised to go to his studio with Spinel.

"Worse. She was so excited she wanted to marry us herself. She even looked into some courses to become a pastor and make it official." Both women burst out laughing at the thought of this. "Did you enjoy your trip?" Tomoyo asked as soon as she could stop laughing.

"It was nice. I just love that little baby. But, you know, I had to come back, I couldn't stay away any longer." Well, the laugh at least improved her mood.

"And now you have a wedding to plan. We can start arranging everything from tomorrow, but first I have to go and set up dinner."

"Dinner! I almost forget it! I promised Ryusuke I'd make him a special new meal for when he returned. Sakura taught me some good new recipes." Meilin started and jumped up from where she was sitting.

"I'll help you, I think I know most of the things she knows." Tomoyo offered.

"No, thank you. I want to make it on my own and give him my own food."

"That's nice. I can help you with the recipe if you forget something in that case. Let's go to the kitchen, I have to make food for my own man."

With this, the two women set out for the kitchen.

They were halfway through dinner when the bell rang and Nakuru went to open the door for Ryusuke, who just then got in. He greeted everyone and apologised for the lateness while Meilin went to get his food and he devoured it as soon as it was set in front of him.

"Meilin, this is delicious! Seconds, please." He said, raising his plate.

"I knew you'd like it." Meilin said, as she served him more. She hadn't needed any help preparing it but, as Tomoyo had predicted, she had needed help in remembering the steps.

By the time he finished his third helping, they had all been waiting for some minutes to get started at the desert. Nakuru set out to serve it.

"I'm sorry for leaving you today, Meilin. I'll make it up to you." Ryusuke said while Nakuru was passing through the places placing the dishes.

"It's ok, I know it was important."

"But I still feel bad about leaving you alone all the afternoon. Did you do something?"

"I just stayed reading." She was looking at her plate when she said this.

Nakuru opened her mouth at the same time as Tomoyo put her hand on her wrist and pressed her fingers on it. Nakuru looked at her inquiringly and Tomoyo made a small shake with her head. Nakuru closed her mouth and went over to serve the next plate without speaking. Eriol glanced at Tomoyo and exchanged an imperceptible nod.

"Did something new happen?" Eriol changed the subject.

"New body. This time in Surrey. We could confirm it was a local woman. Her neighbours hadn't seen her since the previous morning and they all said she was in very good spirits and really energetic when they last saw her. No signs of anyone suspicious in the area again. Now it begins all the paperwork for the new investigation." He was already loosing his appetite. "Eriol, can I come and chat with you tomorrow? Today I'm too tired."

"Sure. Anytime you can is fine."

"Then I'll let you know before coming." He got up.

"Are you leaving already?" Meilin asked astonished.

"Yes, I'm exhausted and I have a weird feeling. I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you. How about tomorrow?" He said, yawning widely.

"I can't. I'll be out all day looking for decorators and florists." She sounded depressed. "And I'll probably be out all week. This wedding business is more troublesome than its worth."

"What?" He could barely hear her through his tired mind.

"I'm also tired. I'll get you to the door and then go to bed myself."

With this, Ryusuke said goodbye to his hosts and went to the door with Meilin for a more private goodbye. When they left, Eriol made Nakuru and Spinel clear the table and sat back on his chair. His wife waited for him to speak.

"Will you find out what she's been doing?" He asked once the door closed behind the guardians.

"I'll talk to her once Ryusuke is gone." She got up. "I guess our peace is over now." She said sadly.

"We already knew it would come."

"Yes, but it's too soon." She burst out, saddened.

She stood by his side, her hand on the back of his chair, thinking for a moment. "What do you think? Before or after?"

"I don't know. I don't know which is worse."

"Never mind." She brushed the idea away, resigned. "Like Sakura says, 'everything will be alright'." Tomoyo tried to smile.

"I wonder if she even believes in it this time." He spoke softly. "I'll do what I can." He finished, looking up at his wife.

"I know you will. I just wish there was somet--" Eriol raised his hand to silence her and they both looked at the door. Footsteps were approaching and then walked by toward the stairs.

"I think it's time to go." She gave a quick kiss to her husband and left the room following the steps.

Eriol remained sitting a little longer, thinking. He had done everything he knew but to no avail. He jogged his memory with everything he could think of but it still eluded him. What was the use of having so many memories if you couldn't find the one you were looking for? A head full of memories is not the most convenient thing to have sometimes. He didn't know why or how, but he knew it was all related. How else could you explain that those events had such a familiar feeling to him? Like a dêja vú, only stronger, more defined. He hadn't seen anything like it in his lifetime. But if it hadn't been in his, then... Still nothing.

Just like Ryusuke had guessed, he was worried, but not for the reason Ryusuke believed. He was worried because if no one had the answer, then how could you solve it? And the only thing he knew was that someone had the answer but that someone wasn't showing up to help. 'Or hinder.' He thought. He frowned. That's the first time that thought crossed his mind. 'Only a troublemaker.' Perhaps that was needed here. 'Disasters wherever he goes.' Now that pointed to the one he was thinking about. 'Better off without him.' Couldn't contradict that. 'But he's needed.' Wait, who was he thinking about then? Nothing answered that. It was another dead end.

He rose from his chair, frustrated, and headed to his studio for some final arrangements before going to bed.

A soft knock sounded on the door and after Meilin said "Come in", Tomoyo entered the room and closed the door behind her.

"I knew you'd come soon." She said in the middle of unpacking one of the suitcases.

"Well, you didn't make an effort to hide the lie." Tomoyo told her smiling and reached to help her unpack.

"Yes, it was stupid of me, just like everything I do." She flung some trousers to her bed. "I think I'm still angry and I wanted someone to know it." And with this, she told her of all that had happened that day without waiting for her to ask. Tomoyo listened to her in silence until she was over speaking.

"I wasted my time. I did everything wrong and now I have nothing to show for my pains." They were sitting on her bed by now and Meilin had reached the end of her tale.

"Why did you go looking for a killer? That's the job of the police. What were you trying to achieve?" Tomoyo asked, concerned.

"I wanted to help Ryusuke. I wanted to show him I can be of assistance to him, not just sit home and wait for him to come back. I mean, he said I could make a good detective because I can tell things. I wanted to prove that I'm useful."

"But what if you had been right? What would've happened if you had found the killer? Have you thought of that?"

"If he was human, I can deal with him. That's why I wanted to go to the place he mentioned the copycat attacked. It's not like I'd face the man outright, but I could come back and hand him the information and he'd be proud of me."

"Or it'd make him completely mad. I think Ryusuke is right, I think you should stay out of this business. Even if you are careful, you could end up in so much trouble. You could be killed." Tomoyo was saying as kindly as possible.

"You didn't see his face when he spoke of what he'd seen. I didn't notice when I first saw him but when he talked about it, his face changed. He is more troubled than he wants to let out and I can tell just by looking at him and I don't like it." She said with feeling. "I want to help him and make him smile like before, as if nothing was ever bad."

"Ok." Tomoyo said after listening to her. "If you are so decided on this, then I'll help. I'll go with you." She stated.

"What are you talking about?" Meilin was shocked by her words.

"I can't let you do this alone. If we go together to investigate, it will seem as a normal girls outing and Ryusuke won't be suspicious. We can take the limousine and the bodyguards to be safe and we can get to many more places like that." Tomoyo's eyes were gleaming as she made plans for their investigating duo. "I'm sure I can get intel on the cases from my friends and we can use that for a guide to know where is best to start."

"But what about your company? Don't you have to work? What will Eriol say?" She asked all this out of concern for her friend but was secretly eager to start on Tomoyo's plan.

"I can take a leave and hide the reason under the pretext of helping you on your wedding arrangements. We can use the times we go out to both get you set up and find out as much as we can about this case. Don't worry about Eriol, I'll talk to him. I know he won't oppose and we can also use his knowledge to help us out and keep Ryusuke from finding out."

"The plan sounds great. When can we start? I hope Eriol will accept." Meilin was eager to start already, her frustration forgotten and new schemes forming in her mind.

"First, I'll talk to Eriol about it. I'll talk him over into the convenience of the plan, don't worry. I'll tell you what happened tomorrow morning."

"Tomoyo, thank you. I don't know what I'd do if I didn't have you to support me." Meilin said gratefully.

"That's what friends are for, after all." She took Meilin's hands in hers and looked at her smiling. "We can start everything tomorrow morning. We might even be able to solve this case before you walk down the isle."

Tomoyo got up from the bed and waved her friend good night, promising to let her know in the morning.


	6. The docks

**The docks.**

The walls covered in grime from the heavy traffic that passed every day from the nearby high avenue were throwing their filthy shadows over the narrow alleys. The smell of the residue from the factory waste filled his nostrils but he couldn't feel it, not anymore. How long had it been since he last felt anything else? A day? Two days? It was difficult to count if you couldn't sleep. The noise, the constant noise kept him turning one way or the other, never truly sleeping, never truly awake. Or so he wanted to be. He wanted so much for it to go away, the noises, the madness. For he was mad, he knew by now. He couldn't be sane if he saw what he saw, if he heard what he heard. But they wouldn't leave him alone. What did they want from him? Why wouldn't they leave him alone? The only place he felt safe was any very loud and noisy place, where he couldn't hear that constant buzzing following him. The only place he felt he could breathe was near the river, on the docks, wherever there was running water and a lot of noise. So in the docks he'd taken refuge, with its people and constant movement and noise even at night. But he still couldn't sleep. What was he looking for? He was drawn there, he knew it.

He kept on walking, dragging his tired feet all over the busy docks with people coming and going, back and forth, like ants collecting their food. And he just walked aimlessly until he knew not where, just walking to get away from them, to get away from himself. The morning sun was rising higher, the shadows were getting thinner and corners were brightening gradually. And more people went about their business in that agitated morning. The only aimless figure in the entire place seemed to be him. Everyone else had something to do, they had a purpose, a place to go, a place to be received in. He walked up to the very edge of the water. Some feet away there was a boat tier, a watchman was reading a magazine sitting in the corner of a small booth.

Maybe his madness had drawn him to the river to end his misery. But he didn't want to go into the river. No, it was farther along the way but he never got there, the noises always stopped him in his tracks and sent him going the other way, scared of what he might find if he went close to them. But they wouldn't stop. He had thought that if he followed the noises they'd end when he got to the end of the line. It didn't happen. The noises just increased and he wouldn't go near them. They were following him. Now he was safe among the bustling people. With all the rest of the noises from the activity around him, he could forget he was running away. He'd have to go back eventually. He hadn't even given notice in his work. They'd be calling soon to know what was going on. But what could he tell them? That he was running from or towards the annoying noises? They'd take him for a madman and he couldn't blame them. In fact, he didn't think he was sane anymore. That wasn't a sane person's behaviour.

He turned around and began his way back. His hands were moving nervously at his sides. He kept looking over his shoulder as he made his way among the crowd of people in the streets. Slowly, he went away from the docks. He knew where he was going now and he headed there. When he had done some 2 miles in that direction, he changed his mind and went towards somewhere else completely different. He reached a place halfway to the place he was heading to and stopped. Again, he kept looking at his sides, like he didn't know where he was. His wandering mind took his steps towards the end of the road again. Just walking, not looking around anymore. He couldn't take what he might find if he looked. He kept bumping into people who swore angrily at his dishevelled figure. They thought he was drunk, or worse, stoned, and walked past him trying not to touch his dirty outline.

Again, the humid air filled his nostrils and he inhaled it deeply. Walking aimlessly through the many containers he got to a path in between the rows and turned one way randomly. Finally, one of them caught his eye. The door was open and he walked to it. Inside, it was empty, cold, a rancid smell came from it but he didn't mind. He was tired already, his feet were weary and he hadn't slept in days. He closed the door tight behind him. Now it was dark. He stumbled to the other side of the box and when he reached the opposite wall, he let himself fall slowly to the floor. Finally, with the last of his strength, he breathed a deep sigh of relief and closed his eyes. He fell immediately into a deep slumber that no one would wake him from.


	7. Planning

**Planning**

Meilin woke up in the early morning. The fog still clung in the street clouding the view to the opposite side; the sky was clouded grey with some orange streaks produced by the rising sun trying to shine through them despite the thickness of the obstacle. She got up and covered herself with a coat before going to the window and looking out. She had to wipe the window from the layer of mist produced by the cold air clashing with the warmth of the room before she was able to look. The street was still dark in many places and the sun hadn't risen to the point where lights would not be needed anymore, which told her it was still too early.

Taking advantage of that fact, she decided to get an early shower and then get on with the unpacking. The previous night she had unpacked the clothes she'd need. Now it was the turn for the rest of the trunks, more specifically, those she had brought back from her visit to her cousin. She prepared her things and crossed the hall to the bathroom and when she came back fifteen minutes later she was already dressed and ready for the day. First, she decided on the biggest trunk. She laboriously moved it out into an open space on the floor. It was a slow process, the trunk was so heavy that it had taken the combined effort of her and Ryusuke to load it in the trunk of the car and then haul it into the house. She wondered whether Nakuru would've been able to lift it up the stairs to her room on her own. She realized she didn't know anything about her abilities. Being a guardian, she naturally had to have many more abilities than a normal human being but she never saw her display any sort of superhuman skill so she didn't know what the extent of them was. Well, it was only a matter of asking her or Tomoyo or Spinel about it.

She lifted the lid of the trunk and the reason for its weight came in view; the entire space was covered in books, notebooks and papers. On top of the content there was an envelope addressed to her. She took it and opened it to find a letter from her cousins inside. Her face broke into a tender smile as she read it. Each one of them had written in it words full of encouragement and love for her and congratulations on her upcoming wedding. They had all shown their support from the start and they were still as affectionate as ever. It was them who had gone into their cousin's house to retrieve the rest of her belongings when they learned she would be staying in London permanently. She didn't know what kind of obstacles her mother had posed to them but they went ahead and took everything she had and carried all themselves to Japan, where Syaoran handed it all to her on her visit. When she learned what they'd done for her, she had so wanted to thank them in person but their mother had soon taken them back to Hong Kong after a brief visit to their nephew so they wouldn't tire the mother with their constant cuddling and fondness. This meant that when Meilin arrived with the Hiragizawas they had just gone back and she had had no chance to thank them. This letter brimming with their feelings for her filled her eyes with grateful tears. She'd have to thank them properly on her wedding day, they were to be part of her train after all.

She left the letter lying over the papers and reached out for another trunk, placed it in the floor and opened it. The girls had made a thorough job of stripping her room from its possessions; here was piled neatly in stacks all of the contents of her desk and drawers. Boxes for small things, folders for her papers and notes, the fragile items all wrapped up in paper and the wrapping bubbles. Even her favourite lamp was wrapped up and stacked there, the light bulb on a box beside it. After a light perusal of the objects, she turned her eyes suspiciously at a box in a corner. Had they dared? Meilin went over and cut the tape and opened it. Only her shoes and other bedroom things were inside. After this assurance, she went over the rest of the luggage checking on things until she was certain of all the contents. Only a couple of things weren't there that by their sheer size and value she was sure her mother had strongly objected to their removal. It was fine, she didn't need them. She didn't need half of the things there but the girls had taken so much trouble to get her that much she couldn't turn them down. Meilin closed again the trunks with the things she didn't need at the moment, leaving only the one with her desk things open which she started removing and placing in her desk. When she was opening the boxes, she found inside one of them one of the missing objects. Well, only the core of it; she took the hard drive in her hands. When she had left her house, she'd taken her notebook with her containing all of her personal information, but she had to leave her desktop computer and all of her works in there because she couldn't carry it. She'd never thought of taking the hard drive, she was too upset to think much. Apparently, her cousins were cleverer than her or her mother and seeing they were banned from taking the whole thing had opted for removing the information from it. That took a weight off of her mind, for even if she could get the arrangement to finish her career there, she dreaded to think of all the work she'd have to redo without her information. Now she could actually focus on her future without having to worry about the past.

The clock struck nine at that moment. Time for breakfast. Meilin got up and headed to the dining room to find Tomoyo already sitting there with Spinel by her side and Nakuru bustling about with things.

"So when do we start?" was Meilin's response to Tomoyo's greeting as she sat down to breakfast. She wanted to start right away with the search. Nakuru served the tea and went to the kitchen to get her plate.

"I'm sorry, we don't." Tomoyo said sadly. "I can't go with you."

"What? Why?"

"I spoke to Eriol and he agreed to lend you a hand. He will get all the information from the case and keep Ryusuke from finding out what you're doing. But in exchange, I have to stay out of it. He forbade me from going with you." Tomoyo explained quietly.

Meilin's face of disbelief turned into disappointment when she grasped the concept of what she said.

"He's worried about our safety. Two women alone searching for a killer is foolhardy. It's too dangerous and so he won't let me go." Tomoyo was speaking calmly, as if she was talking about the weather only.

"I don't understand." Or rather, she didn't want to believe it. Somehow of late, she had come to consider Tomoyo as her best friend. She had been nursing the idea of hanging out with her in the same way as Sakura used to do it. This new enterprise would be just like that, one of those old time adventures that they used to go out to when they were kids, only this time she'd be the protagonist not Sakura. She'd be the one the attention would focus on. And she'd have a loyal friend to help and encourage her.

She thought about what she'd do, what she'd wear, how she'd act, and suddenly remembered the real reason she was doing all that. She remembered Ryusuke's drawn face, his tired eyes, his persistence and neverending spirits. He was working so hard to help others without looking for any gratefulness. She felt ashamed of herself instantly. She was thinking about having fun and attention while the man she loved was working for everyone without getting any recognition for his efforts, and still that's the way he'd have it. He was working to keep her safe. She shook herself and made up her mind.

"I'll go, even if I have to go alone."

"You won't be going alone. Nakuru will go with you, as your bodyguard." Meilin opened her mouth, still unable to grasp it, but didn't know what to say to that. Tomoyo continued explaining calmly in detail. "The plan is that Nakuru will be accompanying you as an assistant as you go about doing the arrangements for the wedding, visiting florists, confectioneries, decorators, etc. All in different parts of London. Meanwhile, in between those scheduled meetings, you and she can drop in one or two places along the way to take a look or just casually have a chat with people on the area. Nobody would suspect of anything if you're just two women with shopping bags. And if things become dangerous, Nakuru can protect you much better than I'd be able to do it with any amount of bodyguards. Besides, you will need someone on the outside who can give you the information on where to go and my office is quite protected." She finished smiling.

"You thought up all this last night?" Meilin asked impressed. It seemed that every detail was thought of.

"Actually, it's Eriol's plan. He thought it up last night. In order for Ryusuke not to get suspicious, the one helping you should be myself, not him, and thus came the idea of having an outside base of operations. It's easier to communicate that way in case of emergency. So, what do you think?"

Meilin was about to answer but a voice interrupted her from behind.

"We'll have so much fun! We'll go everywhere together and see everything, and I'll protect you, don't worry." Seemed that Nakuru was all set for the adventure.

"Well... If you don't have any problems with it, I guess it's fine." Meilin gave in seeing the guardian's eagerness.

"You'll see! We'll have so much fun together!" Nakuru hugged Meilin until she couldn't breathe any longer and was waving her arms to be released. Tomoyo ran to her rescue and the girls went on making plans while having breakfast.

In the meantime, Spinel was doing his best to go unnoticed by the women. His master had asked him to look after them just in case. That didn't mean he was in any way going to get into their projects.

* * *

**NA:**

_Gomenasai! I'm sorry for the long wait for this chapter. I've had too many personal problems in my life that kept me in a constant state of stress hard to bear, not to mention the mental blockage it caused which lasted for over a month with not a single word coming out right from it. Let's hope it's over and I can return to a better writing schedule now. I want so much to make this story move on. _

_I hope this chapter turned out well, since it was made during that blockage and likely to be riddled with errors. So if you see anything at all you wish to comment on, good or bad, please do so. It'd be a tremendous help. I need your reviews to help me improve. Onegai! _

_Arigato!!!  
_


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